NOT FOR the first time, a controversial court judgment last night plunged Italy into a dramatic political crisis following the decision of the constitutional court to overturn legislation granting prime minister Silvio Berlusconi immunity from prosecution while in office.
Asked to rule on the "Lodo Alfano", one of the first pieces of legislation introduced by the Berlusconi government after it took office last year, Italy's constitutional court annulled the law.
Even though the court's ruling now makes it likely that Mr Berlusconi will be called on to face charges in at least three different cases, the prime minister and his closest advisers last night ruled out any possibility that he would consider resigning from office. Leaving government house last night, the prime minister said: "I'm staying where I am. The Consulta [constitutional court] is politicised, it's on the left."
Earlier, one of the prime minister's senior advisers, deputy Fabrizio Ciccihito, the PDL party whip in the lower house, had rejected suggestions that Mr Berlusconi might resign. Arguing, as does Mr Berlusconi, that the prime minister is the victim of a politically motivated miscarriage of justice, Mr Ciccihito said: "prime minister Berlusconi, buoyed by the huge support he enjoys in the country, will continue to govern, dealing with his legal problems head-on, even if these are cases based on a political use of the judicial system".
The centre-left opposition had a different read on yesterday's ruling. Former investigating magistrate Antonio di Pietro, head of the Italy of Values party, called on the prime minister to resign, while Dario Franceschini, current head of the largest opposition force, the Democratic Party, said: "The court has simply re-established a principle that was violated, namely that all citizens are equal in the eyes of the law. Even the very powerful."
In the immediate term, yesterday's ruling may mean that the prime minister will face charges in three different cases - one involving allegations of bribery by his Mediaset company over the purchase of TV rights, another linked to allegations that he tried to bribe centre-left senators to bring down Romano Prodi's 2006-2008 government and, arguably the most important, allegations that he paid British lawyer David Mills a $600,000-dollar bribe in return for false testimony in court cases involving his Fininvest company in the 1990s.
Last February, a Milan court handed out a four-and-a-half year suspended jail sentence to Mr Mills. Mr Berlusconi was removed from this trial, even though the court went on to rule that he had bribed Mr Mills. Legal experts, however, last night suggested that even if the Mills case was reopened against Mr Berlusconi, it would most likely fall foul of the statute of limitations and be dropped before a judgment could be reached.
Yesterday's ruling, however, may have serious negative consequences for the prime minister. His allies may reflect on the fact that, for the second time in five years, he has devoted much government time and energy into passing immunity legislation that was later thrown out by the constitutional court.